


Everything is Alright

by Theyna_Shipper



Series: Star Wars One-Shots [11]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adopted Children, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Domestic Fluff, Established Secret Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Good parents Ben and Rey, Kid Fic, Post-TLJ, Rey Needs A Hug, Reylo babies, Sort Of, You Decide, fluff with plot, not actually but i know the tags people look under
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23519398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theyna_Shipper/pseuds/Theyna_Shipper
Summary: Rey adopts an orphan that she finds on a ruined planet. Domestic Force-bond fluff ensues.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Star Wars One-Shots [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637683
Comments: 13
Kudos: 144





	Everything is Alright

**Author's Note:**

> Random fluff oneshot I wrote because I was bored and tired. Please enjoy!

The still smoking-ruins of what was once a prosperous town are a depressing site. Rey moves quickly and purposefully, searching for the survivors which she knew would be few and far between. 

She senses a faint Force signature from one of the burned-out houses, and it gives her pause. 

“Rey? Everything OK?” 

“You go on,” she muttered, “I’ll catch up.” 

She pushes on the door of the house, almost falling off its hinges. A faint cry comes from a small hatch that has been propped in. She pulls it open, and sees a baby lying in the small basement. 

It has clearly been left there by a fleeing family, in the hopes of their child being found or that they could return to the house. Rey picks up the child and sees a name embroidered on the blanket: _Lyv._ Pulling away the blanket, Rey sees a girl, only a few months old, with caramel skin, green eyes, and dark hair. 

A brief search of the house confirms that there are no other survivors. Rey is about to leave with the girl when a small photograph by the door catches her eye. 

These must be Lyv’s parents, two young women cradling the girl between them. They’re smiling at whoever is taking the photo, the baby looking confused but happy. Rey saves the photo, knowing Lyv will want it someday. A token by which to remember her parents. Rey would give anything to have such a keepsake, something to tell her that someone had once cared for her, a family… 

Ben appears in her peripheral vision at some point during this train of thought, she’s not sure when. They’ve stopped trying to explain or understand or even argue, instead taking solace in each other’s company. If the bond has opened, it’s because she needs him. 

“Rey? Are you all right?”

She realizes she must look battered and dirty from rooting through rubble all day. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He moves closer, looking at Lyv. “Whose child is this?

“I picked up her Force signature while looking for survivors in the ruins.”

“What ruins?”

Rey names the city. “You should know,” she glares. “Your people destroyed it.”

Ben narrows his eyes. “I didn’t authorize this.”

Rey shrugs, and adjusts her hold on Lyv. Ben brushes a lock of hair out of the child’s face. “You can see her?” Rey asks. 

He nods. “You said she was Force-sensitive?” Rey confirms. “I would imagine her own signature is too weak and uncontrolled; she probably latched on to yours, and subsequently- the bond.”

“And can she see you?”

Lyv is now playing with Ben’s hand, gripping his fingers. He gives a small smile. “Evidently.”

Rey takes in the scene for a moment, Ben playing with the baby in Rey’s arms, sweet and calm. Then Rey hears a Finna calling her again. 

“I’m fine!” she shouts. “Be right there!” She turns to Ben. “I have to go.”

“Stay safe.”

“I will,” she promises. 

Rey leaves the house and returns to her group. “I found her in the house. No bodies, no other survivors. I think these are her parents.” She hands Poe the photo. 

He turns it over and looks at the back. “Thrace,” he reads. “I’m guessing that’s the family name?”

“I guess,” Rey says. “We can see if any of the other groups found them.”

They both know the odds are slim. Anyone who left a child behind didn’t expect to survive where they were going. But for now, they can pretend there’s a chance. 

“We’ve swept the area, Rose is taking the other survivors back now,” Finn says. “Shall we head back.”

Rey nods. “How many?”

“Five.” Poe points to a shelter. “Family, hiding out in there. It seems everyone else fled the area or died trying.”

Rey sighs. The numbers are depressingly low, every time. Still she tries to focus on the fact that they found _anyone_ as they return to base. 

**********

Rey is watching Lyv play on a blanket, throwing around a few baby toys they had scrounged from around the camp. Ben sits next to her, appearing on her small bed. “Are you taking care of her now?”

“Her parents are dead,” Rey told him. “We’re looking for other family or friends, but- we’re not hopeful.” 

He puts a comforting arm around her shoulders. “She’s safe, at least. Remember that.”

Rey smiles weakly, as much at his attempts to comfort her as the actual form of the comfort. 

“What’s her name?”

“Lyv. Lyv Thrace.”

The girl looks up at the sound of her name. She crawls across the blanket towards Rey, who picks her up. The girl smiles at Ben. 

“She likes you,” Rey tells him. 

“Is that so?” 

Rey nods. “She didn’t take so kindly to Poe. He tried to hold her, she wasn’t having that.” She nestles her nose into the baby’s hair. It’s a sweet and warm smell that is completely unique to Rey. Lyv has all ready charmed everyone on base, many of them missing children and families. 

*********

It’s with relief that Rey receives Liv from a nurse. She’d needed to be added to the base medical records, and examined after spending time in an attack zone. Still, Rey had quickly become protective of the baby, now officially under her care for the time being. Surrendering her to the med-droids for two hours had been plenty stressful. 

“What did you learn?” Ben asks when she relates the day’s events. 

“What do you want to know? She’s five months old, fourteen pounds, in good health. Blood type AB positive. They gave me more formula and want to give her some treatment for potential radiation exposure. Nothing serious.”

“That’s good.” He is quiet for a moment. “Hux ordered the bombings,” he informs her quietly. “I gave an order to take the military bases on that planet. He extended them, claiming it was necessary.” He purses his lips. “I still take responsibility.”

Rey squeezes his hand, unsure how to respond. They stand together, watching the sleeping baby, and for a moment Rey can imagine they are part of a normal family tableau. 

He kisses the top of her head. “You should sleep.”

“So should you,” Rey returns, fighting a yawn. “Goodnight.”

*********

“You look tired,” Leia remarks. “Lyv keeping you up?”

Rey nods. “But you would know.” Leia has been the most plentiful source of advice for Rey, although all her stories come with a sorrowful tinge. 

“It’s not too much work, is it? Taking care of her and your other jobs?”

“No, there’s always someone who can watch her when I can’t,” Rey says. “But if I could get official custody of her transferred to me, there’d be a lot less complications with timing and paperwork.”

Leia raises her eyebrows. “We can certainly do that. But it will be hard to undo, so be certain you’re completely ready. It will be a lot of work.”

“I can handle it,” Rey replies quickly. There’s no way she will let this child go, let her bounce around or be lost. 

“And you’ll have to move into active duty family housing.” Leia smiles. “She’s really got you wrapped around her finger, huh?”

“Human nature, I guess?” Rey sighs. “Protecting the young?”

“More than that,” Leia replies. “I think you two need each other.”

And by god, does Rey need something other than war right now. And cradling a sleeping Lyv is certainly that. 

**********

“Is that crochet?” 

They have a routine now, she and Ben. It starts out as coincidence and slowly settles. They see each other nearly every night, talk about whatever they’ve done. Usually about Lyv, because it’s the only thing that doesn’t make them acutely aware of their position as enemies. 

“Yeah,” Rey says. “It’s a sling. So I can carry Lyv.”

“Where did you learn?”

“I made most of my own clothes on Jakku; picked up a few skills.” She holds up the partially finished slings. “I wasn’t sure about the colors, but I think they fit.” It’s made of a navy blue and forest green yarn.

“It’s lovely.” He lets Rey put away the yarn before pulling her into his lap, leaning against the wall. 

“I’m her guardian now,” she tells him. “As of yesterday.”

“That’s wonderful,” he tells her. “You’ll make a good mother.”

_Mother._ Rey has avoided considering this position in Lyv’s life, even as Leia spoke of her ‘maternal instincts’. It seems wrong to assume this position that someone else once filled, even if the girl will never remember. That Rey will be the only parental figure in her life except for a photograph. 

But Rey doesn’t express any of this. “I hope so.”

“You’ve always nurtured everything around you,” he continues. “Your flowers on Jakku. That funny orange droid. The porgs that took over the Falcon. You like taking care of things.”

She doesn’t bother to ask how he knows about these things. Memories flow between them like water in a pond, sharing so much of the same. “I like it when things are safe.”

“Lyv’s safe,” Ben assures her. 

**********

Warm water and tears mix in equal capacity on Rey’s face. She feels sick and distracted and worried out of her mind. A visit from Ben is either exactly the thing or the last thing she needs right now. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Lyv’s sick,” Rey chokes. “Croup. And I know lots of babies get croup, and it’s not series, and she’ll probably be fine, but I-”

“Shh.” He lets her bury her face in his chest. “It’s OK to be worried. You’re supposed to be a little worried. It’s what makes you good at taking care of her.”

Rey sniffles quietly. “Someone in medbay took her, said I needed rest, I’ve been up with her all night.” Rey sighs. “I don’t think I could sleep, I couldn’t even handle it when they took her to get vaccinated.”

“You don’t need to sleep, just rest your mind.” He supports her with a hand on her back and one on her shoulder, so that she’s barely standing up by herself. “It’ll be alright.”

*********

Lyv is fine, of course. The croup passes overnight, and within a week she’s as happy as ever, and demonstrating her cleared lungs by crying loudly in the middle of the night. 

“I don’t want her to wake anyone up,” Rey whispers. Ben’s up too, looking tired and stressed. She doesn’t ask. She never asks. She knows. “Leia says it will sound louder to me, but the walls are thin-” despite bouncing, walking, feeding, soft talking, and everything else Rey can think of, the baby remains stubbornly awake. 

“Have you tried singing to her?”

“What?”

“Lullabies or anything? To help her sleep?”

“Don’t know any,” Rey mutters, embarrassed. She never had anyone to teach them to her. 

Ben leans close to them and sings something soft and sleepy-sounding. It’s not a song Rey recognizes, but it’s clearly a song for children. The lyrics are simple and vaguely nonsensical, but lull Lyv to sleep, staying asleep even after she’s back in her crib. 

“Thank you,” Rey whispers, kissing Ben goodnight. 

**********

Another evening conversation through the bond. But this time Ben is relaxed and Rey is happy. “You owe someone a happy birthday?”

He raises an eyebrow. “You?”

She shakes her head. “Lyv. Six months, and healthy as ever. Absolutely spoiled by everyone on base.”

“Well, happy birthday, Lyv. You make your mum proud.”

“Mumma,” live agrees. Rey’s started to settle into the epithet, especially coming from Lyv. 

“She’s talking?”

“Just words. Simple ones.” Rey picks a stuffed animal off the floor. 

“Pig!” Lyv agrees. 

“That’s right, love.” Rey hands her the toy. “Can you say ‘Ben’?”

“Rey, don’t-” he mutters. “She’s not-”

“Beh.”

Rey gives him a look that says, _too late_. “Ben. Be-en”

“Beh-en.” 

In spite of his discomfort, Ben smiles. Lyv could charm anyone, and he’s certainly included, even if he’s only real to the girl and Rey. 

“She mostly just knows names,” Rey explains. “Her ‘extended family’ on base is so large, it's a lot of work for her to remember all of them.” She looks right at him when she says ‘family’. 

**********

The peace talks came unexpectedly after a month of stalemates ended in this offer from the First Order. Rey attends, of course. For reasons other than the chance to see Ben in person, of course. Not to secretly make eye contact across the table when Lyv does something funny. Not to steal a kiss when no one’s looking and the conference room is empty. Not so that she has to do a poor job pretending she isn’t bursting with happiness and vanilla fantasies about a life going forward. 

It’s harder to silence Lyv’s coos of “Beh-en” upon seeing another someone she recognizes, except for him to look away. It feels like an episode out of some strange comedy, simultaneously avoiding and looking for each other.

Rey warms the others up to the idea of her so much as talking to him, having hushed half-arguments in the corner of a crowded room where they might be spotted. Until Finn and Poe pop back into the conference room to retrieve some stuff they left there, and find the two hugging good-bye. Which leaves explaining to do. 

This will take years. But few things worth having are easy. 

*********

And it is two years later when they can finally get married, and move to Naboo, where Ben’s grandmother once lived and where they can raise a family. Lyv runs and plays and talks, and will never quite understand war like the one she was born into. Not if her family can help it. 

She might one day understand how the galaxy has changed. How there are no more slaves and scavengers on the desert planets, or any other planets. 

And in the meantime, Rey can crochet her a blanket, and Ben can show her around the garden, and the three of them can sit down at the table as a family.

**Author's Note:**

> Your comments give me life, especially during these rough times! Thank you for reading.


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